Austrian Mint gold sales surge on panic buying

The Mint says it has sold more gold in the two weeks from April 26 than in the entire first quarter and is selling all it can mint on a daily basis

VIENNA (Reuters) - 

The Austrian Mint, which produces the popular Philharmonic gold coin, sold more gold in the two weeks from April 26 than in the entire first quarter of the year because of soaring demand in Europe, it said on Wednesday.

The mint sold 243,500 ounces of gold in coins and bars in that period, compared to 205,000 ounces in the entire first three months of the year, marketing director Kerry Tattersall told Reuters in a phone interview.

"Demand is exclusively from Europe, we haven't had any orders from the United States and Asia in the last few weeks," Tattersall said. "That's a clear sign that there is panic buying because of concerns about Greece and the euro."

Sales of its signature Philharmonic gold coin reached 108,000 ounces in the same period, also surpassing the 89,000 ounces in the first quarter, which Tattersall said had been an average quarter that did not live up to the previous year's.

"In the last two, three weeks, it was pretty frantic again," he said. The mint has started working in three shifts again, minting coins and bars around the clock to keep pace with demand, he said.

"Currently we don't have anything in stock. We sell our entire daily production immediately," he said.

(Reporting by Boris Groendahl; Editing by Amanda Cooper)

© Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved

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